Power actuated soap dispenser



Sept. 9, 1941- J. F. PALMER POWER ACTUATED SOAP- DISPENSER Filed May 5,1939 U P /& DPMH F /w vim t mw wfi J r Patented Sept. 9, 1941 'UNI TE'D"STATES PATENT OFFlCE -2,255,v22 f rOWER AG T TED SOAPVDISPENSER p, JohnFrederick Palmcr,-Waukesha, Wis. i w

Ap lication Ma 5, 1939, Serial No. 271,977 (01. 261-121) 2 Claims.

The present invention relates generally to liquid soap dispensers andmore particularly toa motor-operated device for dispensingliquid soap insuds form.

While the inventtion may be employed wherever it is desired to dispenseliquid soap, it is particularly designed for shower rooms and bathswhere a large volume of soap suds is required quickly, such as in clubs,industrial plants, community centers, and public shower baths. The useof bar or cake soap in shower rooms of the foregoing character, isobjectionable in that the same is carelessly thrown around, causing ahazard to the occupants, and a considerable waste of soap, in additionto creating an unsanitary condition. Therefore, while. liquid soapovercomes the foregoing objections, heretofore its use has beenunpractical inasmuch as conventional, manually operated dispensingdevicesnow on the market are incapable of quickly supplying an to thebest mode so far devised for the practical adequate quantity of soaprequired to lather the body. 'Also, it is difiicult to convey liquidsoap from conventional dispensers to the body, with the result that thesame flows from the palm of the hand, making the fioor slippery andhazardous.

The invention has primarily for its object to I "meet the foregoingconditions by the provision of an exceedingly simple, and comparativelyinexpensive, motor-operated dispenser of neat, attractive design forrapidly'delivering substantial quantities of liquid soap in fluffy sudsform, whereby the same can be quickly and conveniently applied to anypart of the body without spilling.

Incidental to the foregoing, a ,more specific object of the inventionresides in the provision ofa dispenser comprising'a liquid soapreservoir into which a sudsing and delivery mechanism actuated bycompressed air from a motor-driven compressor extends. I

Another object resides in the provision of means for confining thesudsing and delivery action of the compressed air to a limited quantityof liquid contained in the reservoir, to provide uniform quick deliveryof suds upon operation of the motor, regardless of the volume ofliquidcontained in the reservoir.

Another object is to provide exceedingly simple means for;detachablyassembling and clamping the sudsing and dispensing mechanism upon thereservoir, whereby the same may be easily and quickly removed forcleaning.

A still further object resides in providing the reservoir with a sumpfor reception of the sudser to allow maximum withdrawal of liquid fromthe reservoir. w

With the above and other objects in view, which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the. invention resides in'thenovel method,construction, combination,'.and arrangement of parts;

"tion may be' made as come within the'scope of the claims. I

In the accompanying drawing is illustrated one complete example of thephysical embodiment of the present invention constructed accordinapplication of the principles thereof.

In the drawing: 1 Figure 1 is a plan view ofv a dispenser incorporatingthe present invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken .on the line 2--2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a. fragmentary detail section taken on the line 33 of Figure1; and

Figure 4 is a detail section through the sudsin mechanism, the samebeing taken on-the line well as sanitation, is preferably formed of cast4--4 of Figure 2.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawing, the numerall indicates a reservoir, which, for thepurpose of durability,'as,

metal provided with a vitreous or enamel finish.

. The reservoir is filled through a spout 2 formed in one of its sidewalls andclosed by a threaded cap 3. The lower end of the reservoir*forms a depending skirt which supports the the reservoir to maintainatmospheric pressure 7 with the reservoir.

The sudsing and dispensing mechanism 1 com-. prises a flanged cap Hsupported upon the plate 9 and forming a closure for the opening l2provided in the plate. Suitably secured to the cap II is a conical shell[3, which projects above the cap and extends downwardly into the sump 6to a point closely adjacent its bottom. Detachably mounted upon theupper end of the shell I3 is a sleeve I4, the upper end of which isclosed by a flanged cap I5, provided with a depending shank IS, on whichspaced bafiles H are provided, the bafiies conforming in size and shapeto the restricted bore I8 of the sleeve I4, and having series ofannularly spaced openings I9, through which the soap is forced bycompressed air, resulting in aerating and sudsing the liquid. Adischarge nozzle 20 communicating with the upper end of the sleeve I4above the baiiles I1, delivers the suds to the palm of the operatorshand cupped below the nozzle.

For detachably clamping the sudser 1 upon the plate 9 and holding thesleeve I4 and cap I in assembled position on the shell I3, a bracket 2Iis employed, consisting of a strap 22 provided with a notched orbifurcated end 23 adapted to straddle the shell and engage the top ofthe cap II. The opposite end of the strap terminates in a depending foot24 engaging the top of the plate 9, while a screw 25 serves to securelybind the strap against the cap I I. Secured upon the strap 22, by meansof a screw 26, is a vertical arm 21 terminating in a finger 28 engagingthe top of the flanged cap 5 to securely clamp the same upon the sleeveI4, and, in turn, hold the sleeve on the top of the shell I3. Obviously,upon removal of the screw 25, the entire bracket 2| may be detached,which not only facilitates removal of the sudser I, but also allows thesleeve I4 and the cap I5 to be detached for the purpose of cleaning.

For the purpose of supplying compressed air to the sudser I, acomparatively small electric motor M is mounted on the plate 9, and hassecured thereto a casing 30, which houses an air compressor of anyconventional type.

As best shown in Figure 2, air is supplied to the interior of the shellI3 by a tube 3| passing through the cap II and the shell I3, the lowerend of the tube being closed and terminating at a point closely adjacentthe bottom of the shell I3. Radial openings 32 formed in the lower endof the tube serve to admit compressed air to the interior of the shellI3, while a plate 33 secured to the bottom of the tube and having itsperipheral edge slightly spaced from the side of the shell, serves torestrict the end of the shell, and at the same time allow liquid toenter the shell to a level corresponding to that in the reservoir. Aflexible tube 34 connects the upper end of the tube I3 with thecompressor casing 30, and can be quickly detached from either forremoval of the sudser I.

Secured upon the plate 9 is an electrical switch controlling the motorcircuit, as diagrammatically indicated in Figure 1, and while notessential to the operation of the present invention, for the purpose ofappearance and cleanliness, a hood 35 is seated upon the upper edge ofthe reservoir I to house the mechanism mounted on the plate. The hood 35is secured upon the reservoir by means of a screw 36 fastened throughthe top of the hood and threaded into the plate 9, while the dischargenozzle of the dispenser extends through an opening formed in the bottomof a boss 31 extending laterally from the side of the hood 35.

While the switch illustrated for controlling the motor circuit is of thedepressible type, having the plunger extending through an opening in theside wall of the hood 35, for hand manipulation, it is also contemplatedthat a foot-operated switch may be employed, if desired, to permit freeuse of both the operators hands.

In operation, to dispense suds, the operator merely actuates the switchI to close the motor circuit and operate the compressor 30, which forcesair through the tube 3I into the shell I3 adjacent its bottom and belowthe level of liquid contained in the reservoir and shell. The plate 33,which serves to restrict the lower end of the conical shell formssuflicient obstruction to prevent air from being expelled from thebottom of the shell to pass upwardly through the liquid contained in thereservoir surrounding the shell. Consequently, all air delivered to theshell travels upwardly, and being broken up as it passes through therestricted openings 32 in the end of the tube 3I, the liquid confinedwithin the shell I3 becomes aerated, and slightly fluffed or sudsed onthe surface of the liquid within the shell. The heavy suds thus formedare then picked up by the compressed air and forced through therestricted openings I9 in the baflles I I, which has a further tendencyto break up the soap particles and eventually deliver the same throughthe discharge nozzle 20 in a highly flufied or sudsed condition to theoperator's palm held below the boss 31.

Due to the restricted capacity of the sump 6 into which the shell 13extends, it will be readily seen that the apparatus will function toremove practically all of the contents from the reservoir before fillingis required, and due to the fact that the compressed air acts upon arestricted quantity of liquid at all times, the sudsing action remainssubstantially uniform regardless of the amount of liquid containedwithin the reservoir. Were the reservoir a closed receptacle, dependingupon pressure being created above the contents of the liquid containedtherein, naturally, the operation of the machine would vary in relationto change in the level of the liquid, and as the liquid is lowered, aconsiderable length of time would be required to develop sufllcientpressure to force the same through the sudser and dispenser.

Thus it will be seen that in operation, the compressed air created bythe compressor rapidly aerates and converts the liquid soap confinedwithin the conical shell into suds, which are further broken up andflufied as the suds are forced through the restricted passages in thebaffles IT.

From the foregoing explanation considered in connection with theaccompanying drawing, it will be seen that an exceptionally simple,inexpensive, and eflicient liquid soap dispenser has been provided,which is sanitary, attractive in appearance, and requires no effort oroperation on the part of the operator, other than closing the motorcircuit switch, which, as stated, may be actuated either by the hand orfoot.

It will also be seen that the device may be readily disassembled forcleaning or repair, and due to the fact that withdrawal of practicallythe entire soap contents of the reservoir is possible, frequent fillingis eliminated.

I claim:

1. A power-actuated sudser and dispenser for liquid soap comprising, areservoir, a sudsing and dispensing mechanism extending into saidreservoir and comprising, a cap detachably mounted on the reservoir, aconical shell extending through said cap and terminating at its enlargedlower end closely adjacent the bottom of said reservoir, the lower endof said shell having restricted communication with said reservoir, adetachable sleeve mounted on the upper end of said reservoir, a plugdetachably secured in the upper end of said sleeve and having adepending shank provided with spaced baflies for converting a liquidsoap into suds, a tube extending through said cap and into said shell,said tube terminating adjacent the bottom of said shell and beingprovided with a restricted outlet at its lower end,

and an electric motor-driven compressor for supplying air to said tubefor forcing soap upwardly through said shell and baffles to convert theliquid into suds and dispense thev same.

2. A power-actuated sudser and dispenser for liquid soap comprising, areservoir open at its upper end and provided at its lower end with adepending skirt to space the bottom-from a support a sufiicient distanceto accommodate the sump formed in the bottom, a plate supported upon thetop of said reservoir to admit atmospheric pressure to the reservoir andprovided with an opening, a sudsing and dispensing mechanism mountedupon said plate and comprising, a cap forming a closure for said openingin said plate, a conical shell extending through said cap and having itsenlarged end positioned in said sump and terminating closely adjacentits bottom, the enlarged end of said shell having restrictedcommunication with said sump, a sleeve detachably mounted upon the upperend of said shell, a plug closing the upper end of said sleeve andprovided with a depending shank, spaced baflies provided on said shankand having series of openings, a tube passing through said cap and intosaid shell, said tube terminating adjacent the bottom: of said shell andhaving restricted openings in its lower end, a motor-driven compressormounted upon said plate for supplying air to said tube, a detachablebracket for clamping said cap upon said plate and holding said sleeveand plug in assem-' bled position upon said 'shell, a discharge nozzlefor said shell, and a hood mounted upon the upper end of said reservoirfor housing said sudsing and dispensing mechanism and said motor-drivencompressor, said hood being provided with an' opening alined with saidnozzle through which suds are dispensed.

JOHN FREDERICK PALMER.

